Hearing loss decisions — 2009

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were first shown many years after separation from service, and the preponderance of the competent medical evidence is against a relationship between these conditions and military service.

The Veteran meets the schedular requirements for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities, but his unemployability is not solely due to these conditions as he has successfully used hearing aids and retired from his job in 1991.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and psoriasis were denied.,His claim for an increased rating for erectile dysfunction was also denied.

The Veteran's requests for service connection for hearing loss, back strain with recurrent back pain, acquired psychiatric disorder, and left hand/wrist carpal tunnel syndrome were denied as new and material evidence was not presented to reopen the claims. The Veteran's current psychiatric disorder is not linked to his military service.

The Board found no evidence of asbestos exposure during service and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lung disorders, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for silicosis was also denied.

The Board has denied all of the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of new and material evidence or insufficient evidence. The claims are being considered on their merits.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for hearing loss due to new evidence. The Veteran's tinnitus claim is remanded for issuance of a Statement of the Case.

The Board has granted service connection for Major Depressive Disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus. The Veteran meets the criteria for a TDIU based on his combined rating of 60 percent from his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, meeting the criteria for TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus related to service. The evidence is against a finding that these conditions are due to noise exposure in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, including exposure to artillery noise. As a result, service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was aggravated during service, and thus is granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The Veteran's current diagnoses of PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are supported by medical evidence linking them to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, are not shown to preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment prior to May 29, 2008.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is productive of no more than Level I hearing acuity in the right ear and Level II hearing acuity in the left ear, resulting in a noncompensable disability rating. The Board finds that there is no probative audiological evidence to support an initial compensable evaluation for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for vertebra damage of cervical spine were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for his hearing loss or establish a direct link between his current condition and service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and granted it, finding that new evidence supports a link between his in-service noise exposure and current hearing loss.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability due to lack of evidence establishing a relationship between his current hearing loss and active service. The new evidence submitted does not provide such a link.

The Board found that the appellant's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to service, including noise exposure. As a result, the claims for these conditions were denied.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a presumption of soundness at entry into service. The claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.